BIOS Flash Chip Substitution
Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:19 am
I decided I wanted to do some BIOS hacking. I got a new flash chip to experiment with and wrote the latest BIOS for my motherboard to the chip using an EEPROM programmer. I did this so I can always recover using my original BIOS chip if things go wrong.
I couldn't find a flash chip identical to the original available anywhere, so I used the best match I could find. I have an ASUS K8V Deluxe motherboard with an AMI BIOS, which came with a Winbond W29C040P-70B chip. I substituted an Atmel AT29C040A-90JU in its place.
The new chip works, however the BIOS gives me the following error when booting: "Flash ROM not supported." The system pauses and continues booting after hitting F1. I tried running AFUWIN (AMI Flash Utility for Windows) to see if it would ID the new chip. It displayed an error message saying the chip was incorrect and terminated.
I suppose the flash chip's ID is getting checked. If this is the case, where is the information stored that this ID is being checked against (in the case of the BIOS error)? Is it stored in the BIOS itself?
Is there away to get rid of this error and program this chip with the computer?
I know I must be missing something. There are outfits that sell pre-programmed replacement BIOS chips, and if I can't find a W29C040 chip, I bet they can't either.
Thank you for your help!
I couldn't find a flash chip identical to the original available anywhere, so I used the best match I could find. I have an ASUS K8V Deluxe motherboard with an AMI BIOS, which came with a Winbond W29C040P-70B chip. I substituted an Atmel AT29C040A-90JU in its place.
The new chip works, however the BIOS gives me the following error when booting: "Flash ROM not supported." The system pauses and continues booting after hitting F1. I tried running AFUWIN (AMI Flash Utility for Windows) to see if it would ID the new chip. It displayed an error message saying the chip was incorrect and terminated.
I suppose the flash chip's ID is getting checked. If this is the case, where is the information stored that this ID is being checked against (in the case of the BIOS error)? Is it stored in the BIOS itself?
Is there away to get rid of this error and program this chip with the computer?
I know I must be missing something. There are outfits that sell pre-programmed replacement BIOS chips, and if I can't find a W29C040 chip, I bet they can't either.
Thank you for your help!